Reference: Romans, Epistle To The
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(3.) This epistle was probably written at Corinth. Phoebe (Ro 16:1) of Cenchrea conveyed it to Rome, and Gaius of Corinth entertained the apostle at the time of his writing it (Ro 16:23; 1Co 1:14), and Erastus was chamberlain of the city, i.e., of Corinth (2Ti 4:20).
(4.) The precise time at which it was written is not mentioned in the epistle, but it was obviously written when the apostle was about to "go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints", i.e., at the close of his second visit to Greece, during the winter preceding his last visit to that city (Ro 15:25; comp. Ac 19:21; 20:2-3,16; 1Co 16:1-4), early in A.D. 58.
(5.) It is highly probable that Christianity was planted in Rome by some of those who had been at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Ac 2:10). At this time the Jews were very numerous in Rome, and their synagogues were probably resorted to by Romans also, who in this way became acquainted with the great facts regarding Jesus as these were reported among the Jews. Thus a church composed of both Jews and Gentiles was formed at Rome. Many of the brethren went out to meet Paul on his approach to Rome. There are evidences that Christians were then in Rome in considerable numbers, and had probably more than one place of meeting (Ro 16:14-15).
(6.) The object of the apostle in writing to this church was to explain to them the great doctrines of the gospel. His epistle was a "word in season." Himself deeply impressed with a sense of the value of the doctrines of salvation, he opens up in a clear and connected form the whole system of the gospel in its relation both to Jew and Gentile. This epistle is peculiar in this, that it is a systematic exposition of the gospel of universal application. The subject is here treated argumentatively, and is a plea for Gentiles addressed to Jews. In the Epistle to the Galatians, the same subject is discussed, but there the apostle pleads his own authority, because the church in Galatia had been founded by him.
(7.) After the introduction (1:1-15), the apostle presents in it divers aspects and relations the doctrine of justification by faith (1:16-11:36) on the ground of the imputed righteousness of Christ. He shows that salvation is all of grace, and only of grace. This main section of his letter is followed by various practical exhortations (12:1-15:13), which are followed by a conclusion containing personal explanations and salutations, which contain the names of twenty-four Christians at Rome, a benediction, and a doxology (RO 15:14-ch. 16).
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Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Gyrene, Roman residents, Jews and proselytes,
When these things had been accomplished, Paul purposed in spirit to go to Jerusalem, after he should pass through Macedonia and Achaia, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also.
And when he had gone through those regions, and had exhorted them with many words, he came into Greece. And having remained there three months, he determined to return through Macedonia, because a plot had been laid for him by the Jews, as he was about to sail to Syria.
For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not spend time in Asia; for he hastened, that, if it were possible for him, he might be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
But now I am going to Jerusalem, to minister to the saints.
I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church that is in Cenchrea,
Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hernias, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren with them. Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints that are with them.
Gains, my host, and the host of the whole church, salutes you. Erastus the treasurer of the city, and Quartus, my brother, salute you.
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;
Erastus remained at Corinth. I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.
Hastings
ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE
1. Time, occasion, and character.
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Judge not, that you may not be judged:
And while they were looking earnestly to ward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white raiment, who also said: Men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall come in the same manner in which you saw him go into heaven.
Then it pleased the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to send to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas, chosen men from among themselves; Judas, who was surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren;
So when these men were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and having assembled the multitude, they delivered this letter.
She followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying: These men are the servants of the most High God, who show us the way of salvation. And this she continued to do for many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit: I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour. read more. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the market to the rulers. And having brought them to the magistrates, they said: These men, who are Jews, do greatly trouble our city;
And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, and charged the jailer to keep them securely.
and finding a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had lately come from Italy, with Priscilla his wife, because Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome, he went to them;
And having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. And a certain Jew, named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. read more. He was instructed in the way of the Lord; and, being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, knowing only the immersion of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him, and taught him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to pass into Achaia, the brethren, exhorting him, wrote to the disciples to receive him. And when he had come, he gave much help to the believers, through the grace conferred on him. For, with great strength, he utterly confounded the Jews publicly, showing, by the Scriptures, that the Christ was Jesus.
When these things had been accomplished, Paul purposed in spirit to go to Jerusalem, after he should pass through Macedonia and Achaia, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also.
When these things had been accomplished, Paul purposed in spirit to go to Jerusalem, after he should pass through Macedonia and Achaia, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also.
When these things had been accomplished, Paul purposed in spirit to go to Jerusalem, after he should pass through Macedonia and Achaia, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also.
When these things had been accomplished, Paul purposed in spirit to go to Jerusalem, after he should pass through Macedonia and Achaia, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also. So, having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he remained for a time in Asia.
So, having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he remained for a time in Asia.
So, having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he remained for a time in Asia. And at that time there was no little excitement about that way. read more. For a certain man, named Demetrius, a silversmith, by making silver shrines for Diana, furnished no little trade to the artists. These he called together, with the workmen em ployed about such things, and said: Men, you know that our wealth arises from this trade: and you see and hear, that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost the whole of Asia, this Paul, by his persuasions, has drawn away a great multitude, saying, that they which are made with hands are not gods. Now there is danger, not only that this our calling will come into disgrace, but that the temple of the great goddess Diana will be despised, and that the majesty of her whom all Asia and the world worships, will be destroyed. When they heard this, they were full of anger, and cried out, saying: Great is Diana of the Ephesians! And the whole city was filled with confusion. And they seized Gains and Aristarchus, who were Macedonians, Paul's fellow-travelers, and, with one consent, rushed into the theater. And when Paul wished to go in among the people, the disciples did not permit him. Some of the Asiarchs also, who were friendly to him, sent to him, and besought him not to trust himself into the theater. Some, therefore, were crying one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused, and the greater part knew not for what they had come together. And some of the multitude put Alexander forward, the Jews urging him on. And Alexander waved his hand, and wished to make a defense to the people. But perceiving that he was a Jew, they all cried out, with one voice, for about two hours: Great is Diana of the Ephesians. But the town-clerk quieted the multitude, and said: Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great Diana, and of the image that fell down from Jupiter? As these things, then, can not be contradicted, you ought to be quiet, and do nothing rashly. For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples, nor revilers of your goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius, and the artists who are with him, have a charge against any one, the courts are in session, and the proconsuls are there; let them accuse each other. But if you have any inquiries to make about other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger of being called to answer for this day's tumult, since there is no cause by which we shall be able to account for this concourse.
And having remained there three months, he determined to return through Macedonia, because a plot had been laid for him by the Jews, as he was about to sail to Syria.
And having remained there three months, he determined to return through Macedonia, because a plot had been laid for him by the Jews, as he was about to sail to Syria.
And having remained there three months, he determined to return through Macedonia, because a plot had been laid for him by the Jews, as he was about to sail to Syria. And Sopater of Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy and Tychicus and Trophimus, who were Asiatics, accompanied him to Asia.
PAUL, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he formerly promised through his prophets in the holy scriptures, read more. concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the posterity of David according to the flesh, but declared to be the Son of God with power, according to his holy spiritual nature, by his resurrection from the dead, through whom we have received grace and apostleship, in order to the obedience of faith among all nations, for the honor of his name, among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ, to all that are in Rome, be loved of God, called saints: Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
to all that are in Rome, be loved of God, called saints: Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God, through Jesus Christ, on account of you all, because your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. read more. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that, without ceasing, I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, that, if possible, I may at length have a prosperous journey, by the will of God to come to you. For I greatly desire to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, in order that you may be established; that is, that I may both give and receive com fort, while I am among you, through our common faith. But, brethren, I do not wish you to be ignorant that I often purposed to come to you, though I have been hindered to the present time, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise. So that, as far as I am able, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also, who are in Rome.
So that, as far as I am able, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also, who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: for it is the power of God in order to salvation, to every one that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. read more. For in it God's plan of justifying men by faith is revealed, in order to faith: as it is written, He that is justified by faith, shall live. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who, by unrighteousness, restrain the truth. Because that which may be known of God, is manifest among them; for God has made it manifest to them, (for, since the creation of the world, his attributes, which are invisible, are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity,) that they may be without excuse; because, when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful; but they became perverse in their reasonings, and their wicked heart was darkened; professing to be wise, they became foolish, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. For which reason God delivered them up, in the desires of their hearts, to uncleanness, that they might dishonor their bodies among themselves; who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God delivered them over to vile passions: for their females exchanged their natural use for that which is against nature: and in like manner also the males, leaving the natural use of the females, burned in their lusts one toward another, males with males practicing infamous lewdness, and receiving in them selves the due reward of their error. And as they refused to acknowledge God, God delivered them up to an undiscerning mind, to do detestable things; as they were filled with all unrighteousness, lewdness, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity; whisperers, evil-speakers, haters of God, insolent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents; without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful; who, acknowledging the judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but approve those who practice them.
For which reason, you are without excuse, man, who ever you are, that judge; for in that in which you judge an other, you condemn yourself; for you who judge, practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God against those who practice such things, is according to truth. read more. But do you, man, who judge those that practice such things, and yet do the same, conclude that you will escape the judgment of God? Or, do you despise the riches of his goodness, and his forbearance, and his long suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But, according to your hard and impenitent heart, you treasure up to yourself wrath for a day of wrath, and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his works; to those who, by patient continuance in good works, seek for glory and honor and incorruptibility, eternal life: but to those who are contentious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, anger and wrath, affliction and distress, upon every soul of man that practices what is evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek: but glory and honor and peace to every one that practices what is good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek: for there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned under law, shall be judged by law, in the day when God shall judge the secret works of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, who have not a law, do, by nature, the things of the law, these who have not a law, are a law to themselves, who show that the work which the law requires, is written in their hearts, their conscience bearing testimony, and their reasonings with each other accusing, or making excuse. But if you are named Jew, and rest in the law, and make your boast in God. and know his will, and approve what is excellent, being instructed by the law: if you are also confident that you yourself are a guide for the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the simple, a teacher of the unlearned, because you have the form of true knowledge in the law; you, then, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say that a man should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you, by transgressing the law, dishonor God?
What advantage then has the Jew, or what profit has circumcision? Much in every respect; but chiefly that the oracles of God were intrusted to them. read more. What, indeed, if some have been unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness overthrow the faithfulness of God? It can not be. But let God be true, though every man be a liar, as it is written: That thou mightest be justified in thy words, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness causes God's plan of justifying men to be better known, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous, who inflicts punishment? I speak as a man. It can not be: for if so, how shall God judge the world? Yet, if the truth of God has, through my lie, been greatly advanced to his glory, why am I still judged as a sinner? Then, why not say, (as we are slanderously reported as saying, and, as some affirm, that we do say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? Of such persons the condemnation is just. What then? Do we, Jews, excel? Not at all: for we have already convicted all, both Jews and Greeks, of being under sin, as it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understands; there is none that seeks after God; they have all turned out of the way; they have alike become unprofitable; there is none that does good, not even one; their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet. are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what the law says, it speaks- to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. Wherefore, by works of law, no flesh shall be justified in his sight; for by law is the knowledge of sin. But now, God's plan of justifying men without law is revealed, being attested by the law and the prophets; I repeat it, God's plan of justifying men through faith in Jesus Christ, which is for all, and on all that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, yet may be justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has set forth as a propitiatory sacrifice, through faith in his blood, in order to manifest his righteousness, in passing by the sins that were formerly committed through the forbearance of God; in order to manifest his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just, while he justifies him who believes in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No; but by the law of faith. For we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without deeds of law. Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of the Gen tiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: since there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through the faith. Do we, then, make law void through the faith? It can not be. On the other hand, we establish law.
who was delivered up for our offenses, and raised again for our justification.
Know you not, brethren, for I speak to you that are acquainted with law, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman that has a husband, is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives: but if her husband die, she is loosed from the law of her husband. read more. So then, if, while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband die, she is free from the law; so that she is not an adulteress, though she be married to another man. So then, my brethren, you, also, have died to the law, by the body of the Christ, in order that you may be married to another, to him who was raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were excited by the law, were active in our members, so as to bring forth fruit to death: but now we are made free from the law, being dead to that by which we were bound, so that we may serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What, then, shall we say? Is the law sin? It can not be. Indeed, I had not known sin, except through law. For I had not known evil desire, unless the law had said: You shall not have any evil desire. But sin, taking occasion through the commandment, rendered active within me every evil desire. For without the law, sin was dead. Indeed, I was alive with out the law, once; but when the commandment came, sin be came alive, and I died: and the commandment, which was given for life, I found to be for death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment, holy and just and good. Has, then, that which is good become death to me? It can not be. But sin, that it, might appear sin, was causing death to me through that which is good, in order that sin, through the commandment, might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into bondage to sin. For what I do, I know not: for that which I wish to do, this I do not; but that which I hate, this I do. If, then, I do that which I wish not to do, I give assent to the law, that it is good. Now, then, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good; for to will is present with me; but to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I wish to do, I do not; but the evil that I wish not to do, this I do. Now, if I do that which I wish not to do, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find, then, this law: That, when I wish to do good, evil is present with me. For, in the inward man, I delight in the law of God: but I perceive another law in my members, at war with the law of my mind, and making me a captive to the law of sin, which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body that subjects me to death? I thank God that I shall be delivered through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I my self, with the mind, serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.
There is now, therefore, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin, and of death. read more. For what the law could not do, because it was weak through the flesh, God has done, who, sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for a sin-offering, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh, mind the things of the flesh; but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be. Those, then, who are in the flesh, can not please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if any one has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. But if Christ is in you, the body is dead, on account of sin, but the Spirit is life, on ac count of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised the Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies, because of his Spirit that dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh;
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh; for if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if, through the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. read more. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not again received the spirit of bondage, that you may fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself testifies with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and, if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider the sufferings of the present time not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed for us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creature was subject to frailty, (not by its own will, but for his sake who subjected it,) in hope, that even the creature itself shall be made free from the bondage of corruption, and introduced into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that every creature groans, and is in pain together, till now: and not only they, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by this hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for, what any one sees, why does he also hope for it? But if we hope for that which we see not we wait for it with patience. In like manner, also, the Spirit helps our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes for us, with groanings unutterable. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, that he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren: and those whom he predestinated he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What, then, shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
What, then, shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not with him also freely give us all things? read more. "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died: rather, indeed, that has risen, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of the Christ? Shall affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? As it is written: For thy sake, we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet, in all these things, we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us.
I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing me testimony in the Holy Spirit, That I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart; read more. for I could wish my self to be accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh; who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service, and the promises; to whom belong the fathers, and of whom is the Christ, as it respects the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. It is not possible that the word of God has failed; for they are not all Israel who are of Israel. Nor, because they are the posterity of Abraham, are they all children: but in Isaac shall your posterity be called. That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the posterity. For the word of the promise is this: At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. Not only so, but when Rebecca had conceived by one, even our father Isaac, (the children, indeed, having not yet been born, and having done neither good nor evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calls,) it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger; as it is written: Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What, then, shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with. God? It can not be. For he says to Moses: I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy; and I will show compassion to whom I will show compassion. Therefore, it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh: For this very purpose have I raised you up, that I may show in you my power, and that my name may be published in all the earth. Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills to have mercy: and whom he wills to harden, he hardens. You will then say to me, Why does he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will? No, but rather, O man, who are you that dispute with God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed, it, Why have you made me thus? Has not the potter power over the clay, to make from the same mass one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?
What, then, shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not seek after justification, have obtained justification, even the justification which is by faith:
But with respect to Israel, he says: All day long have I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contradicting people.
And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, have been grafted in among them, and partake with them of the root and fatness of the olive, boast not against the branches; but if you boast, boast not that you bear the root, but that the root bears you. read more. You will say then: The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; on ac count of unbelief they were broken off; but you stand by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed, lest he spare not you. Behold, then, the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell,. severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise, you also shall be cut off. And they, also, if they continue not in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out from an olive-tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted, against nature, into a good olive, how much more shall these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive? For I do not wish you, brethren, to be ignorant of this mystery lest you be wise in your own conceit that blindness has happened to Israel in part, till the full number of the Gen tiles shall have come in. And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written: There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins. As it respects the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sakes; but as it respects their election, they are beloved for the fathers sakes: for God's gifts and calling are irrevocable. For as you formerly did not believe God, but now have obtained mercy through their unbelief; so, also, these have not now believed, that through the mercy shown to you, they also may obtain mercy. For God has delivered them all over to unbelief, that he may have mercy on them all. the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or, who has been his counsellor? Or, who has first given to him, and received from him a recompense? For from him, and by him, and for him, are all things. To him be glory through the ages! Amen.
Him that is weak in the faith, receive kindly, but not to judge his reasonings.
But he that doubts is condemned, if he eat, because he eats not with faith. Every thing that is not of faith, is sin.
And again, Isaiah says: There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to rule the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in the hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit. PAET IV. Conclusion. read more. And I myself am persuaded concerning you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of all goodness, having been filled with all knowledge, able also to instruct one another. Yet I have written to you more boldly in part, my brethren, as if I would put you in remembrance, on account of the grace which is given to me by God, that I may be the public servant of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, officiating as a priest with respect to the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit. I have, therefore, cause to glory in Christ Jesus in things that pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, by word and deed, in order to make the Gentiles obedient, by the power of signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit. So that from Jerusalem, and round about as far as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of the Christ; so earnestly desirous have I been to preach the gospel, not where Christ had been named, lest I should build on another man's foundation; but, as it is written: They to whom he was not preached, shall see; and they who have not heard, shall understand. For which reason, also, I have been often hindered from coming to you.
For which reason, also, I have been often hindered from coming to you. But now, having no longer a place in these regions, and having had for many years a strong desire to come to you, read more. when I make my journey into Spain, I hope, in passing through, to see you, and to be conducted by you on my journey thither, after I am first partly satisfied with your company. But now I am going to Jerusalem, to minister to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor saints who are in Jerusalem: they have been pleased to do so, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have become partakers of their spiritual things, they ought to minister to them in things pertaining to the flesh. When, therefore, I shall have performed this, and have delivered to them this fruit, I will go by you into Spain. And I know that in coming to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Now I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me, in your prayers to God for me,
Now I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me, in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that this service of mine, which is for Jerusalem, may be acceptable to the saints;
that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that this service of mine, which is for Jerusalem, may be acceptable to the saints; that I may come to you with joy, by the will of God, and may be refreshed among you. read more. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
and salute the church that is in their house. Salute Epenetus my beloved, who is the first fruits of Asia to Christ.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel, even the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was concealed during the times of the ages, but is now made manifest, and through the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known among all nations for the obedience of faith, read more. to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory throughout the ages. Amen.
Morish
This may justly be called the fundamental epistle of Christian doctrine. Its value and importance are seen in that its doctrine lays in the soul a moral foundation by the presentation of God in qualities or attributes which the state of things existing in the world appears to call in question. Thus God is justified in the eyes of the believer, and this being the case, the purposes of His love are made known to him.
In looking at all that is around us in the world, everything appears to be out of order: the presence and domination of sin, a broken law, and the corrupt and violent will in man, all call in question the righteousness of God; while the scattering of God's people Israel raises the question of His faithfulness to His promises.
Now in Christ all this finds its full and complete answer. The Son of God, by whom all were created, has Himself come in the likeness of sinful flesh, and, by offering Himself a sacrifice for sin, has completely vindicated God's righteousness, while revealing His love. At the same time the man, or order of man, that has sinned against God has been judicially removed by His death from before the eye of God, so that God can present Himself to man in grace.
The moral perfection of the offerer of necessity brought in resurrection, in which all the pleasure of God's grace in regard to man is set forth in righteousness; and Christ risen is the deliverer who is to come forth from Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Thus God's faithfulness to His covenant is established in Zion. God is proved to be faithful and righteous: we have here the first elements of the knowledge of God.
But it way be desirable to open up the epistle a little in detail. After the introduction, in which the fact may be noticed that the glad tidings are said to be concerning God's Son, a picture is given us of the moral condition of man in the world, whether heathen, philosopher, or Jew. In the heathen we see the unchecked development of sin (Rom. 1). In the philosopher the fact that light in itself does not control evil (Rom. 2); and in the Jew that law is proved to be powerless to bring about subjection to God, or to secure righteousness for man. The conclusion is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God
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After the tumult had ceased, Paul called the disciples to him, and bade them farewell, and departed, in order to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone through those regions, and had exhorted them with many words, he came into Greece. read more. And having remained there three months, he determined to return through Macedonia, because a plot had been laid for him by the Jews, as he was about to sail to Syria.
Smith
Romans, Epistle to the.
1. The date of this epistle is fixed at the time of the visit recorded in Acts 20:3 during the winter and spring following the apostle's long residence at Ephesus A.D. 58. On this visit he remained in Greece three months.
2. The place of writing was Corinth.
3. The occasion which prompted it,,and the circumstances attending its writing, were as follows:--St. Paul had long purposed visiting Rome, and still retained this purpose, wishing also to extend his journey to Spain. Etom. 1:9-13; 15:22-29. For the time, however, he was prevented from carrying out his design, as he was bound for Jerusalem with the alms of the Gentile Christians, and meanwhile he addressed this letter to the Romans, to supply the lack of his personal teaching. Phoebe, a deaconess of the neighboring church of Cenchreae, was on the point of starting for Rome, ch.
and probably conveyed the letter. The body of the epistle was written at the apostle's dictation by Tertius, ch.
but perhaps we may infer, from the abruptness of the final doxology, that it was added by the apostle himself.
4. The origin of the Roman church is involved in obscurity. If it had been founded by St. Peter according to a later tradition, the absence of any allusion to him both in this epistle and in the letters written by St. Paul from Rome would admit of no explanation. It is equally clear that no other apostle was like founder. The statement in the Clementines --that the first tidings of the gospel reached Rome during the lifetime of our Lord is evidently a fiction for the purposes of the romance. On the other hand, it is clear that the foundation of this church dates very far back. It may be that some of these Romans, "both Jews and proselytes," present. On the day of Pentecost
carried back the earliest tidings of the new doctrine; or the gospel may have first reached the imperial city through those who were scattered abroad to escape the persecution which followed on the death of Stephen.
At first we may suppose that the gospel had preached there in a confused and imperfect form, scarcely more than a phase of Judaism, as in the case of Apollos at Corinth,
or the disciples at Ephesus.
As time advanced and better-instructed teachers arrived the clouds would gradually clear away, fill at length the presence of the great apostle himself at Rome dispersed the mists of Judaism which still hung about the Roman church.
5. A question next arises as to the composition of the Roman church at the time when St. Paul wrote. It is more probable that St. Paul addressed a mixed church of Jews and Gentiles, the latter perhaps being the more numerous. These Gentile converts, however, were not for the most part native Romans. Strange as the: paradox appears, nothing is more certain than that the church of Rome was at this time a Greek and not a Latin church. All the literature of the early Roman church was written in the Greek tongue.
6. The heterogeneous composition of this church explains the general character of the Epistle to the Romans. In an assemblage so various we should expect to find, not the exclusive predominance of a single form of error, but the coincidence of different and opposing forms. It was: therefore the business of the Christian teacher to reconcile the opposing difficulties and to hold out a meeting-point in the gospel. This is exactly what St. Paul does in the Epistle to the Romans.
7. In describing the purport of this epistle we may start from St. Paul's own words, which, standing at the beginning of the doctrinal portion, may be taken as giving a summary of the contents. ch.
Accordingly the epistle has been described as comprising "the religious philosophy of the world's history "The atonement of Christ is the centre of religious history. The epistle, from its general character, lends itself more readily to an analysis than is often the case with St. Paul's epistles. While this epistle contains the fullest and most systematic exposition of the apostle's teaching, it is at the same time a very striking expression of his character. Nowhere do his earnest and affectionate nature and his tact and delicacy in handling unwelcome topics appear more strongly than when he is dealing with the rejection of his fellow country men the Jews. Internal evidence is so strongly in favor of the genuineness of the Epistle to the Romans that it has never been seriously questioned.
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Then they that were dispersed went everywhere preaching the word.
He was instructed in the way of the Lord; and, being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, knowing only the immersion of John.
And it came to pass, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, after passing through the upper districts, came to Ephesus, and finding certain disciples, said to them: Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? They said to him: We have not only not received it, but we have not even heard whether the Holy Spirit is given. read more. And he said to them: Into what, then, were you immersed? They replied: Into John's immersion.
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: for it is the power of God in order to salvation, to every one that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it God's plan of justifying men by faith is revealed, in order to faith: as it is written, He that is justified by faith, shall live.
I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church that is in Cenchrea, that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of saints, and that you aid her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she has aided many, and myself also.